I'm a staff writer at Forbes, where until recently I chased the super-rich for our Forbes 400 and World's Billionaires lists. Now I'm covering the consumer economy, writing about the big personalities reinventing retail. Before Forbes, I worked as a news reporter in the UK and my home country of Bermuda, a travel writer for Frommer's and an intern for CNN's Anderson Cooper while completing a master's degree at Columbia University. Got a story idea? Email me at coconnor@forbes.com.

Adelson was the single largest money man of the 2012 cycle, spending more than $53 million on super PACs bankrolling a Romney victory as well as those funding Senate and House races.

All the Republicans he backed at state level — Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in New Jersey, George Allen in Virginia, and Connie Mack in Florida, among them — lost but for one: Nevada’s new Senator Dean Heller, who ran against Adelson’s lawyer-turned-nemesis Shelley Berkley. Add the casino billionaire’s primary candidate of choice Newt Gingrich, who he backed to the tune of $20 million, to his negative tally.

Don’t shed a tear for Adelson, though. He was actually planning on spending upwards of $100 million on the election, as he told my colleague Steve Bertoni for a Forbes cover story in June. And while $53 million may sound like quite a chunk of change, it’s not much for a guy worth $20.5 billion. Imagine an average person with a $100,000 net worth buying a pair of Tory Burch shoes ($250). You’d care if you lost them, but you wouldn’t be ruined. Adelson’s ego may be bruised but his bank account is safe.

There were plenty other Forbes 400 list members who backed Mitt Romney through his Restore Our Future super PAC — 42 at our last count, or more than 10% of the country’s richest. Between them, they spent over $33 million on attempting to remove President Obama from the White House through that one political committee alone.

Officially, neither of America’s richest brothers donated to a political committee this election cycle — at least, not one with a paper trail. The right-wing think tank David founded, Americans for Prosperity, spent $33.5 million on anti-Obama attack ads. As a nonprofit, AFP isn’t required to disclose its donors; the Kochs could have donated some of those millions, but we’ll never know. (As an aside: I followed AFP in a last-ditch canvassing effort in rural Pennsylvania the weekend before the election. Read about it here.)

Longtime marijuana advocate and Progressive Insurance billionaire Lewis was the money behind drug legalization initiatives in Washington and Colorado. He gave $1.5 million to New Approach Washington in an effort to pass Initiative 502, which would allow adults over 21 to buy pot in state regulated stores. He donated $800,000 to Colorado’s Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, backing Amendment 64. Both passed, allowing for recreational marijuana smoking. Incidentally, Lewis hails from hotly contested swing state Ohio. Watch out for drug reform to edge its way onto the next ballot in the Buckeye State.

James Simons

The “quant king”, as the retired Long Island hedge funder is known, is the left’s biggest billionaire backer this election — and probably the Forbes 400 political donor with the least name recognition. The MIT grad, theoretical mathematician and Vietnam-era codebreaker quietly gave $7.575 million across a handful of the biggest liberal-leaning super PACs, including Obama-backing Priorities USA Action. He can look forward to White House invites for the next four years (as well as, you know, the satisfaction of having helped elect the President).

Jon Stryker

The Michigan medical devices heir can celebrate more than one win for causes he supports. He’s another huge Obama backer, putting $2 million into Priorities USA Action. The Berkeley-educated architect is also a longtime donor to LGBT issues and founded the Arcus Foundation, which makes grants towards equal rights on a national level. He can celebrate not just Obama’s reelection but an historic move by Maine and Maryland, the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote.

For more on the billionaires who backed either candidate or state-level causes this election, read this and this.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

my best friend’s mother-in-law makes $76/hour on the internet. She has been laid off for nine months but last month her income was $17831 just working on the internet for a few hours. Go to this web site and read more http://bit.ly/Yqz9w4